Athens, J Stephen

English

ScholarSpace at University of Hawai'i at Manoa

A Stone Adze from Ponape,Eastern Caroline IslandsReceived 16 March 1981J. STEPHEN ATHENSDURING THE COURSE of archaeological fieldwork undertaken on Ponape in1979-1980, a basalt adze in the Museum Pohnpei collection was brought tothis author's attention. This specimen is notable due to the fact that stoneadzes (and/or stone axes) are very rare on Ponape, despite plentiful sources of basalt(Hambruch 1936:52-53; Schurig 1930:7). The situation is similar for other volcanicislands of central Micronesia, though stone adzes are not as rare in western Micronesia(Craib 1977). Bellwood (1979:295) summarizes information on Micronesian stoneadzes as follows:Stone tools are not common, even on the volcanic islands, and Micronesian stoneadzes are generally of the simple untanged oval or lenticular cross-sectioned formscharacteristic of Melanesia (Duff types 2F and 2G). Tanging and waisting are virtu-ally unrecorded.Because of the possible cultural implications of stone-adze styles in Oceania, a descrip-tion of the Ponape specimen is of interest. Furthermore, its relatively large size andfine workmanship (Fig. 1), and its recovery in coral sand dredging from an underwaterlagoon location, add to this interest.The distinguishing features of this adze are its broad trapezoidal shape and relativelythin profile. In cross-section it appears lenticular with rounded edges. The tool's maxi-mum length is 19.3 cm, and the maximum thickness is 2.4 cm.The poll section has a squared-off appearance, though there is a slight roundednessin the center. Some evidence of ancient battering may be seen in this area. It is per-haps a result of the original shaping of the tool.Author's address: 4646 Kahala Avenue, Honolulu, Hawaii 96816.44 Asian PerspectivesJ XXIV (1), 1981.. .......... ,"' ,',",::.:..;:.~~,\::~~~ ~ - ~. ': ", :":'''~ ::.:~-<-:::A"! \,'.--', I .... ~:.:-. -, ':". ',': . -, ....... " ' .'., - ...~. ,'"I ':. ,... \,:. ,. -., .".. ,......'~;~\'~~~~i~~_",//... . ..../o ScmLot--'_....L.........._"'--....J'Fig. 1 Basalt adze from Ponape.The cutting edge, which appears to have been straight rather than curved, is thewidest part of the tooL A clearly distinguishable flat bevel is evident on one side. Onthe opposite side there is also the trace of a bevel, though it has a more roundedappearance in profile. Bilateral beveling is usually considered diagnostic of axes, whichhave the blade mounted parallel to the axis of the haft. However, since a flat bevelappears only on one side of the tool in question, similar to that seen on typical shelladzes, this tool is probably best categorized as an adze. The haft, therefore, wouldhave been mounted perpendicular to the tool's cutting face.The chipping along the blade and on one side of the poll is obviously recent, andmust have occurred at the time of recovery. These exposures indicate the stone to bebasalt.The surface of the adze has been ground and polished to an almost glassy smooth-ness. Only a few slightly rough areas remain, which are found where the surface isslightly depressed.The adze was recovered in 1977 by Miguel Marquez, a member of the Ponape His-toric Preservation Committee, in coral sand being unloaded from a truck at the con-ATHENS: Stone Adze from Ponape 45struction site of the new Auak elementary school. In an interview, Marquez affirmedhis presence at the school site while the truck was unloading the sand, and his recov-ery of the tool immediately afterward. According to Marquez, there is no doubt thatthe coral sand had been brought from an underwater lagoon dredging site at Mesihsouin Matolenihmw Municipality. While I had observed the area of dredging on severaloccasions previously, the coral sand was not inspected for artifacts. However, Saxe eta1. (1980: 119) note that artifacts occasionally occur in dredged coral sand and rock onPonape, and Saxe (personal communication) specifically observed shell artifacts in thedredgings of Mesihsou.The apparent underwater location of the adze at the time of recovery, along withthe indication by Saxe et a1. that artifacts occur in coral dredgings, suggests the possi-bility that Ponape may have underwater archaeological sites. If this is true, thesewould have to be sites of some antiquity, as presumably the island of Ponape wouldhave to be slowly sinking to account for their submergence. Island subsidence duringthe Holocene, in fact, has been documented by Bloom (1970: 149-150). Thus, the adzedescribed here may be relatively old compared to other archaeological specimens pres-ently known to occur on Ponape (e.g., Athens 1980; Ayres and Haun 1978; Ayres,Haun, and Severance 1981).In the future, efforts should be made by archaeologists to carefully examine dredg-ing localities in Ponape for the presence of artifacts. If underwater archaeological sitescan be confirmed, then it may be possible to secure information for an earlier periodof Ponape's human occupation than otherwise would be revealed by the usual dry-landexploration techniques.ACKNOWLEDGMENTSArchaeological fieldwork in Ponape was undertaken on behalf of the Pacific StudiesInstitute of Guam. I am grateful for its support, and also for the assistance provided by thePonape Historic Preservation Committee.REFERENCESATHENS,J.STEPHEN1980 Archaeological Investigatiolls at Nan Madol: Islet Maps alld Surface Artifacts. Monograph Series no.2. Guam: Pacific Studies Institute.AYRES, WILLIAM S., AND ALLAN E. HAUN1978 POllape Archaeological Survey: 1977 Research. Micronesian Archaeological Survey Report no. I.Saipan: Historic Preservation Office, T TP.1.AYRES, WILLIAM S., ALLAN E. HAUN, AND CRAIG SEVERANCE1981 Ponape Archaeological Survey: 1978 research. Micronesian Archaeological Survey Repon no. 4.Saipan: Historic Preservation Office, T.TP.1.BELLWOOD, PETER1979 Man's Conquest of the PaCific. New York: Oxford University Press.BLOOM, ARTHUR1970 Holocene submergence in Micronesia as the standard for eustatic sea-level changes. Quate17laria12:145-154.46 Asian Perspectives, XXIV (1), 1981CRAIB, JOHN L.1977 A typological investigation of Western Micronesian adzes. M.S. thesis, Department of Anthropol-ogy, California State University, Long Beach.HAMBRUCH, PAUL1936 Ponape: die Ruinen. In Ergebnisse der Sudsee-Expedition 1908-1910, edited by G. Thilenius, Vol. II,B7-3. Hamburg: Friederichsen, de Gruyter & Co.SAXE, ARTHUR A., SUSAN R. LOUGHRIDGE, AND RICHARD ALLENSON1980 The Nan Madol area of Ponape: researches into bounding and stabilizing an ancient administrativecenter. Report. Saipan: Historic Preservation Office, T.T.P.I.SCHURIG, MAGARETE1930 Die Sudseetopjerei. Leipzig: Druckerei der Werkgemeinschaft.

A Stone Adze from Ponape, Eastern Caroline Islands

http://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/bitstream/10125/19233/1/AP-v24n1-43-46.pdf

A Stone Adze from Ponape, Eastern Caroline Islands

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

ScholarSpace at University of Hawai'i at Manoa